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I want to retube my ENGL, please help as i have no idea what to do :(

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  • I want to retube my ENGL, please help as i have no idea what to do :(

    Okay i know next to nothing about tubes and i want to retube my ENGL Savage120...hopefully myself as a learning experience and as a money saver. And i am okay with electronic stuff and my dad can help me as he is a broadcast engineer and knows tonnes about electronic gear, so i "shouldnt" get hurt

    Hopefull retubing the amp will fix this darn thing. I need to learn about biasing and stuff though because ive heard that even if you swap the tubes for exactly the same ones, only newer, you still have to set bias or something. Like i said...i know nothing.

    I just had the amp open for the first time after learning something about valves, and i found that the power tubes are in fact 6550B's, not the kt88's i previously thought.....derrrr

    And the preamp tubes are as follows:

    V1 - 12AX7A (no brand, just big red writing)
    V2 - ??? looks the same as the rest but with no label.
    V3 - 12AX7A (no brand, just big red writing same as V1)

    (all v1,v2,v3 have no brand, just the type of valve in big red letters on v1 & v3 and no label at all on v2)

    V4,V5,V6 - all GT Groove Tube 12AX7's.

    and of course V7 & V8 are 6550B's and while there isnt a brand these power tubes say "made in russia".


    So what types of valves should i get. Brand wise, and also someone suggested i get 6550C's..how are they different to 6550B's? And what do i need to do in the way of setting up the amp once i replace the valves?

    All help and advice is much appreciated, thank you all in advance
    My Soundclick page.

  • #2
    Re: I want to retube my ENGL, please help as i have no idea what to do

    Engl typically uses rebranded, "hand-selected" Sovteks, 12AX7WBs in the pre-amp stage and 6550 or 6L6 on the output. They typically choose the type of tube which suites their amps best. If you want stay on the safe side, just use the same tubes.

    If you change the output tubes (get a matched pair), you'll need rebias them. I'd take it to a qualifyed tech, since it can be dangerous.
    °
    my stuff

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    • #3
      Re: I want to retube my ENGL, please help as i have no idea what to do

      I do beleive that KT88s and 6550's are generally the same, maybe one is the 'british' or 'military' version.

      If your amp typically uses sovtek 12AX7WA's, because thats what they feel sounds best, i'd prolly stick with that. I find that ElectroHarmonics tubes work better in my amp than the sovteks for the sound i want... but its different for all amps. Correct me if i'm wrong, you're not in search of a different sound, but trying to fix problems?? Once you have stuff fixed, and have a good reference, maybe then you should experiment more with which tubes to use... at the moment though, i'd just try to get it working.

      For the poweramp, i'd stick with sovtek 6550's...

      It seems that the 6550C's had some sort of small improvement over the 6550B's, which may be better... the site i found said it 'increased peak cathode emi'... not sure what that means, but its supposed to be an improvement over the 'B' version...
      Now, i also found the sovtek 6550WD, which is apparently supposed to be super heavy duty, with 'Thicker plates, improved heat dissipation, higher transconductance, and increased linearity', and are supposedly designed to be the best 6550 ever produced... you might try those. i hope that helps a bit...
      '01 Gibson Les Paul Standard (stock BB V's)
      Squier Fat Strat (stock/duckbucker/stock)
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      • #4
        Re: I want to retube my ENGL, please help as i have no idea what to do

        Oh, and i'd also reccomend that you take it to a qualified amp tech to get it biased... cuz if you have to open it up and everything, theres voltages that stay in the amp for a long time, and they're enough to kill you... so unless you REALLY know what you're doing, i'd not reccomend it.
        '01 Gibson Les Paul Standard (stock BB V's)
        Squier Fat Strat (stock/duckbucker/stock)
        '66 Fender Bassman
        Fender Champion 600
        Fender Stage 100

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        • #5
          Re: I want to retube my ENGL, please help as i have no idea what to do

          Originally posted by jmv
          Correct me if i'm wrong, you're not in search of a different sound, but trying to fix problems?? Once you have stuff fixed, and have a good reference, maybe then you should experiment more with which tubes to use... at the moment though, i'd just try to get it working.
          Excellent point, i think thats exactly what i'll do
          My Soundclick page.

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          • #6
            Re: I want to retube my ENGL, please help as i have no idea what to do

            You should be able to rebias for 5881/6L6's for less headroom and more warmth. For the preamp section, I'd go with JJ ECC83-S's to tame the preamp or Sovtek LPS's.

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            • #7
              Re: I want to retube my ENGL, please help as i have no idea what to do

              The JJs are great tubes. I have the ECC83s in my Triamp, actually 8 of them.

              They do lower the gain a bit, but that's easily overlooked with the sound quality you get from them (very smoothe and rich). Plus, if I'm correct (based on my research and the sound clips I hounded for), the ENGL is a complete gain monster, so you won't miss a little.
              Originally posted by kevlar3000
              I learned a long time ago that the only thing that mattered regarding tone was what my ears thought.
              Originally posted by Zerberus
              Better is often the enemy of good
              Originally posted by ginormous
              Covers feed the body, originals feed the soul.

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